PREVIEW: Baseball to Host SHSU Tuesday
4/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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| HOUSTON (29-15) vs. SAM HOUSTON STATE (24-21) | |
| SERIES BREAKDOWN |
| LOCATION | Houston, Texas - Cougar Field |
| GAMEDAY CENTRAL | GAMEDAY CENTRAL |
| LISTEN LIVE | UHCougars.com/baseradio |
| WATCH LIVE | UHCougars.com |
| GAMETRACKER | |
| SERIES HISTORY | Houston and SHSU have met 157 times. |
| ALL-TME SERIES | Houston leads the all-time series, 79-78. |
| GAME NOTES | Houston Notes |
| PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION | |
| 6:30 PM - TUESDAY | HOU | TBA SHSU | TBA |
HOUSTON -- Eying win No. 30 on the year, Houston Baseball will return home Tuesday for a midweek contest vs. Sam Houston State. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Cougar Field.
You can follow all the action by listening in live at UHCougars.com/baseradio with Jeremy Branham on the call or by following via GAMEDAY CENTRAL at UHCougars.com/gameday.
PROMOTIONS
Social Media Night
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Come to GAMEDAY CENTRAL located behind home plate, show us you follow Houston Baseball on social media and receive a FREE UH baseball keychain (while supplies last).Prizes will be given during the game for those who follow us on our social media outlets.
QUICK HITS ON HOUSTON
Houston, under fifth-year head coach Todd Whitting, returns home after earning an American Athletic Conference series win on the road at USF this past weekend. With the series win and the 3-1 week following a midweek victory last Tuesday at McNeese State, the Cougars own 29-15 overall record this season.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
The offensive showed well in the road series win at USF, tallying 30 hits in the three games to boost its team average to .267 on the year and its slugging percentage to .398 after hitting recording 11 of the 30 hits for extra bases.
On the year, the offense has slugged 33 homeruns, led by junior Chris Iriart's conference-leading 13 long balls. He paces the team with a .323 average and joins junior Josh Vidales with a team-leading 52 hits, 36 runs and 31 RBI on the year, with Vidales hitting .310.
Junior Kyle Survance leads the team with 24 stolen bases and upped his average to .292 after hitting .400 last week. As a team, the Cougars have drawn 254 free passes to its 280 strikeouts.
ON THE BUMP
The Houston pitching staff has been a punchout force of late, recording 62 total strikeouts in the last two weekend series for a season total of 323 to just 104 walks.
As a staff, the Cougars are holding opponents to a .262 average and own a 3.42 ERA with 11 saves.
Freshman Seth Romero, who was named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week, leads the way with a 1.92 ERA in 16 appearances and four starts. He has fanned 61 in 51.2 innings and is 5-3 on the year with five saves following a Sunday win at USF and a Saturday save in the game prior.
Sophomore Andrew Lantrip is 6-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 11 starts. The right-hander has unfortunately suffered the no-decision in his last three outings, but is coming off a career-high 13 strikeout effort at USF in his last start. He has now fanned 67 in 76.0 innings.
Junior Kyle Dowdy is 6-1 with a 3.21 ERA in 14 appearances and seven starts and has worked his way into the Saturday role for the Cougars.
Senior David Longville started last week's midweek game at McNeese State and is 3-2 with a 4.15 ERA in nine appearances and six starts.
Out of the bullpen, the Cougars have relied heavily on the arms of junior Patrick Weigel and freshman Aaron Fletcher of late. Weigel is 4-1 with one save and a 3.35 ERA. The hard throwing righty has fanned 39 in 43.0 innings and leads the team with 18 appearances.
Fletcher earned his first career save in Sunday's win at USF and now owns a 2.16 ERA in 16 appearances, all out of the bullpen.
QUICK HITS ON SAM HOUSTON STATE
Sam Houston State enters Tuesday's midweek game with a 24-21 overall record and is coming off a non-conference series win on the road at No. 23 Oklahoma, knocking off the Sooners in the final two games. The Bearkats have won 10 of their last 12 games, including a 5-0 road win at Texas in their last midweek game.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Sam Houston State is hitting .283 as a team and slugging .363 with 66 doubles and 16 homeruns, while reaching base 149 times for an on-base percentage of .357.
Leading the way offensively is Jake MacWilliam with a .367 average, while Spence Rahm is second with a .318 average, a team-best 57 hits, 27 runs scored and 31 RBI, while pacing the team with five homeruns.
ON THE BUMP
Sam Houston State's pitching staff owns a 3.46 ERA with five saves and in 402.2 innings, the Bearkats have struck out 317 and walked 116, while holding opponents to a .254 average.
Six pitchers have multiple wins, led by Alex Bisacca's 5-1 record and 2.02 ERA in a team0leading 21 appearances and one start. Andrew Godail and Logan Boyd lead the team with 11 starts, with Godail holding a 2.60 ERA and a 2-5 record and Boyd with a 5-3 mark and a 3.44 ERA. Jordan Church leads the team with a 2.01 ERA in 15 appearances
10 Bearkats have made starts this season for the team.
SERIES HISTORY
- Houston and Sam Houston State have met 157 previous times in program history - third-most played opponent behind Rice and Texas A&M.
- The Cougars own a 79-78 all-time series lead over the Bearkats.
- The two teams meet for the second time this season after the Cougars won Game 1 on March 10.
- The series dates back to 1947 and the two teams have played at least once since the 2002 season.
- Last Meeting: March 10, 2015 at Sam Houston State (Houston 17, SHSU 7)
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
Tuesday, April 28 -- 6:30 p.m.
Houston: TBA
SHSU: TBA
ON DECK
Following the midweek contest vs. Sam Houston State, the Cougars will hit the road for its final regular-season weekend series away from Cougar Field as they take on Tulane in a three-game set, beginning Friday at 6 p.m. Friday's game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
The series will continue at 2 p.m. on Saturday and wrap at 1 pm on Sunday.
HOUSTON TO INSTALL LARGEST COLLEGE BASEBALL VIDEO BOARD
Thanks to lead donations from Don Sanders and Joe Gutierrez, Houston Baseball and head coach Todd Whitting are proud to announce that Daktronics will design, manufacture and install a brand new LED video display to be named Sanders-Gutierrez Scoreboard at Cougar Field.
According to Daktronics, the new outfield video display will be the largest at an on-campus baseball stadium in the country. It will measure roughly 27.5 feet high by more than 55 feet wide to provide more than 1,500 square feet of space for live video, instant replays, statistics and scoring information, graphics and animations, and sponsor messages. The display features a 15HD pixel layout for crisp, clear imagery with wide-angle viewing for a great view from every seat at the ballpark.
SINGLE-GAME TICKETS
Single game tickets for the remaining eight home games at Cougar Field can be purchased by clicking here: UHCougars.com/Basetickets.
Along with the online option, fans can purchase tickets by visiting the Athletics Ticket Office at TDECU Stadium Monday through Friday, 10 a.m., to 5:30 p.m. or can call 713-GO-COOGS.
Houston Baseball offers variable pricing on its single-game tickets and group rates.
For the first time ever, the pricing breakdown will be determined whether or not you purchase your single-game tickets online vs. at the gate the day of the game as well as whether the Cougars play on a weekday (Monday-Thursday) or weekend (Friday-Sunday).
Weekday: Monday-Thursday; Weekend: Friday-Sunday.
As noted in the table, variable pricing occurs. For weekday (Tuesday nights) online purchases, fans can take in a game, ranging from $5-$7 depending on the choice of seating. If you choose to purchase the day of the game as a Weekday Walk-Up, you will pay roughly $2 more than the online price ($7-$9).
Weekend (Friday-Sunday) online pricing will range from $6-$8 per game, while Weekend Walk-Up pricing the day of the game will run a fan anywhere from $8-$10.
GROUP RATES
Group rates are also available (as noted in the table). Weekday (Tuesday) and Weekend (Friday-Sunday) pricing occurs. Groups of 10-24 are set at $4-$5 per person, while groups of 25+ are $3-$4 per person.
HOW TO PURCHASE
To purchase tickets in advance, fans must visit the Athletics Ticket Stadium Office located on the northeast corner of TDECU Stadium, just outside of Gate 1 off Cullen Boulevard. Parking is available in the TDECU Stadium parking garage with the first 30 minutes free of charge. Regular business hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m., to 5:30 p.m. or you can call 713-GO-COOGS.
JOIN THE DUGOUT CLUB
Nationally-ranked Houston Baseball would like to encourage those wishing to support the efforts and success of the baseball student-athletes to consider joining the Dugout Club for as low as $25 a month or $300 annually.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
LEVELS
PINCH HITTER
For a minimum monthly installment of $25 or a minimum one-time gift of $300, supporters can take advantage of the Pinch Hitter level, which will guarantee an invitation for two to exclusive Dugout Club events and Houston Baseball team apparel.
DIAMOND
For a minimum monthly installment of $100 or a minimum one-time gift of $1,000, supporters can take advantage of the Diamond level, which will guarantee batting practice passes for two to any home game, invitation for two to exclusive Dugout Club events and Houston Baseball apparel.
**Cougar Pride points will be applied accordingly.
For more information on joining the Dugout Club, please contact the Houston Baseball office at (713) 743-9396.
For more information regarding Cougar Pride, please call (713) 743-GOUH.
STAY CONNECTED
Stay up to date with all Houston Baseball news and highlights by following us on Twitter @UHCougarBB or on Facebook at /HoustonCougarBaseball. Fans can also follow head coach Todd Whitting @toddwhitting on Twitter.
